Chapter 4 4: Lucy: Is this the mission for the strongest team?
"Erza!"
"I'll go with you, but I have one condition..."
Natsu called out to Erza, his expression dead serious.
"When we get back... let's have a showdown!!"
"It won't be like last time; the me right now... I can beat you!!"
"Hey?!" Natsu's wild words startled Gray beside him. "Are you trying to die, you idiot?"
The atmosphere at the station solidified for a moment.
Erza quietly gazed into Natsu's eyes. The young man's gaze was filled with determination, confidence, and a burning passion like fire.
"Is that so?"
It seems Natsu has truly grown stronger!
At this moment, Erza's heart was filled with the same sense of relief a big sister feels when seeing her mischievous younger brother finally grow up.
"In that case, I accept your challenge. We'll fight when we return."
"It's a deal!"
Upon receiving her response, Natsu immediately burst into flames, so excited that his whole body seemed to ignite.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, this is great! My fighting spirit is completely ablaze!"
"Ugh, I feel so sick..."
Natsu, who had just been full of fighting spirit and challenged Erza,
was now the same color as Happy on the speeding train, so nauseous from motion sickness that he was about to pass out.
"Honestly, what a pathetic guy." Gray glanced at him disdainfully, mercilessly mocking, "He just provoked someone, and now he's like this..."
"Even though it's always like this, he still looks so uncomfortable..." Lucy said, holding Plue with a worried expression.
"Honestly, there's no helping it. Come over here."
Erza looked helpless and had Lucy and Natsu switch places.
"This will make it a little easier for you..."
"Aiyi—"
With a swift punch, Natsu fell directly onto Erza's lap, looking utterly peaceful.
"This way, he can be a little more comfortable."
"Nice!!!"
Ron, who was enjoying the scenery outside the window, saw this scene, expressed that he had learned something, and gave Erza a big thumbs up.
'As expected, this isn't a normal guild. These people are all a bit strange...'
Lucy had black lines appearing on her head. Helpless, pitiful, and defenseless, she dared not say anything, only silently complained to herself.
"Erza, it's time you told us," Gray asked Erza. "What exactly are we going to do?"
"Our opponent this time is the Dark Guild, Eisenwald. They seem to have obtained a magic called 'Lullaby' and plan to cause trouble with it."
"Lullaby?!" Happy exclaimed.
"Isn't that the one from last time..."
Lucy recalled the people she and Natsu had encountered with Gray on their way back after completing a mission request last time.
"I see, so you've already encountered Eisenwald?"
"They seemed to have said something about 'Lullaby' at the time, so it must be them..."
"It appears those people were Eisenwald's pawns, who escaped without continuing to execute the plan."
Erza pinched her chin, speculating on the possibilities.
"As for the shadow that appeared afterward, it should also have been someone from Eisenwald, who acted to prevent the plan from being leaked."
"Is that plan... related to Lullaby?" Gray asked.
Lucy also looked confused. "What exactly is this 'plan'...?"
"Well, after the last job, I was in Onibus City..."
Erza briefly recounted how she had encountered the Eisenwald group discussing the Lullaby in a tavern on her way back.
"By the way... 'Lullaby' means a cradle song, right?"
"That's right, but this Lullaby shouldn't be listened to casually."
"Shouldn't be listened to? Why is that?"
"Because if you listen... people will die!"
Ron leaned against the train window, resting his right hand on his cheek, explaining the Lullaby to the others.
After all, among these people, except for Lucy who reads, the others are almost completely estranged from books.
So there was no point in expecting them to know about the Lullaby.
"Lullaby, also known as the Cursed Song, was originally an item used for Cursed Killing Magic, which is a forbidden black magic that deprives targets of life through curses."
"Of course, it was later evolved by Zeref into a flute that could release a Cursed Song, thus, compared to Cursed Killing Magic, the Lullaby possessed greater power and range."
"Zeref?!" Erza and Gray's expressions stiffened upon hearing that name.
"Could it be the legendary Founder of Black Wizards, the most violent and evil Black Wizard?!" Lucy exclaimed.
Ron nodded.
Zeref, a person who cherished life and was kinder than anyone.
Due to a divine curse, he was forced to stay away from humans and wander; and because of the actions and propaganda of fanatical believers, coupled with the spread of negative rumors, he earned the title of the most violent and evil.
Even hundreds of years later, many still wish to awaken or revive this legendary Black Wizard.
"Maybe I should just go back..."
"Lucy, you're leaking a lot of juice," Happy said.
"It's sweat..."
Hearing Ron's description of the Lullaby, Lucy, holding Plue, was trembling all over and covered in cold sweat.
She hadn't expected that just by going on a mission, she'd encounter a Dark Guild and the Founder of Black Wizards...
Lucy: Is this the mission for the strongest team? I'm scared, I'm scared...
Ron glanced at Lucy, a smile playing on his lips.
In the original story, Lucy was quite reliable in most critical moments, but her current timid appearance was really quite amusing.
However, he didn't intend to scare her too much, so he spoke to reassure her.
"Relax, relax, it's just a magic spell."
Ron waved his hand with a smile, looking completely at ease.
"Even if it's related to Zeref, so what? It's not him personally, so there's no need to worry."
Strictly speaking, his own guild and Zeref could be considered "family."
Several of the guild's founders were Zeref's students.
The First Master was even his lover, and they even had a child together.
Ron looked at Natsu lying on Erza's lap.
And this one, he's the little brother Zeref was willing to be cursed to revive...
"Ron, you better take this seriously!"
Erza, however, frowned and warned him, her expression showing apprehension.
"Since Zeref is involved, this matter might become very troublesome!"
"Got it, got it. I'll definitely take this mission seriously."
Ron nodded, not refuting her.
But... troublesome, this matter?
A guild that even the current Natsu could sweep through alone?
Or a group of short-sighted and arrogant fools who look down on legitimate guilds?
Truly, only those who haven't been truly beaten by a legitimate guild would naively believe that a broken flute could deal with guild masters like Makarov.
Of everything that transpired during this incident, the only thing that piqued his interest was Lullaby—the one crafted by Zeref.